Each type of reading
has a different rate. For example, an
exciting novel is a quicker read than
a text in biology.
Text books also vary
in how well they are written, and as
a consequence some are more difficult
to read.
Each semester, time
yourself reading a chapter
in each of your text books. See how
many pages an hour you can read. Once
you have an accurate estimate of your
reading rate, you can better plan
your reading time and studying time.
Scan the chapter first.
Identify the sections to which the
author devotes the most amount of
space. If there are lots of diagrams
for a particular concept, then that
must also be an important concept. If
you're really pressed for time, skip
the sections to which the least
amount of space is devoted.
Read the first sentence
of every paragraph more carefully
than the rest of the paragraph.
Take notes on headings
and first sentence of each paragraph
before reading the chapter itself..
Then, close your book and ask
yourself what you now know about the
subject that you didn't know before
you started.
Focus on nouns and main
propositions in each sentence.
Look for the noun-verb combinations,
and focus your learning on these.
For example, consider the
following text:
Classical conditioning is
learning that takes place when we
come to associate two stimuli in
the environment. One of these
stimuli triggers a reflexive
response. The second stimulus is
originally neutral with respect to
that response, but after it has
been paired with the first
stimulus, it comes to trigger the
response in its own right.
Rather than read every word, you
might decode this text graphically:
Classical conditioning = learning =
associating two stimuli
1st stimulus triggers a response
2nd stimulus = originally neutral, but
paired with 1st --> triggers
response.
Rather than reading and re-reading
your text, take notes in this form, so
that you've re-written the important
parts of the text. Once you have
written notes, you don't have to worry
about the text itself.
See also note
taking from a textbook in
our Study Guides
Adapted
from "Being a Flexible Reader"
by Gail Kluepfel, Rutgers University
Feedback to improve
this page
(please specify which page)
The Study Guides and Strategies web site was created and is
maintained by Joe
Landsberger,
academic web site developer at the University
of St. Thomas (UST), St. Paul, Minnesota. It is collaboratively
maintained across institutional and national boundaries, and last revised
September 04, 2002 .
Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt, print,
transmit, and distribute
Study Guides in settings that benefit learners. On the WWW, however, please link
rather than put up your own page since pages are frequently modified and
improved in consideration of educational research. No request to link is
necessary. Additional contributions and translations are warmly
received.
|
